Andy Warhol (1927-1987)
Bald Eagle (FS II.296), 1983
screenprint on Lenox Museum Board, AP 8/30
38 x 38 inches
43.25 x 43.25 inches (frame)
signed lower left: Andy Warhol AP 8/30
printer chop mark lower right: Rupert Jasen Smith, NY
verso: stamped © ANDY WARHOL 1983 PUBLISHER: RONALD FELDMAN FINE ARTS, INC NEW YORK

Bald Eagle is the most sought-after screenprint from Andy Warhol’s Endangered Species Portfolio completed in 1983. Like other pieces in the 10-part series, it features an animal then considered to be endangered or under imminent threat of extinction by habitat destruction, overuse of commercial or sporting purposes, or other manmade or natural causes. What sets this piece apart, however, is Warhol’s selection and portraiture of the bald eagle, America’s national bird. Through the depiction of U.S. mass goods and celebrities, Warhol established himself as a quintessentially American artist. In Bald Eagle, rather than showing its whole form, Warhol crops the bald eagle very closely, focusing on its head with some slight chest. Behind the head is a plausibly colored sky. Its gradient of dark blue transitioning to a lighter tint suggests a time approaching sunset. The eagle itself faces the viewer’s left, like how it looks on the Great Seal of the United States; on the seal, this is the side in which the eagle clutches an olive branch. The original colors of the bird’s head are left intact, albeit highly contrasted, and an outline of hand-drawn red and yellow lines delineate an eye, majestic plumage, and a prominent and proud beak. These features vividly stand out, the viewer’s eye being drawn to them by Warhol’s ingenious framing. He essentially splits the piece into thirds, letting the black of the chest and blue of the sky act as simple but effective stages for the centerpiece eagle’s head.

The print appears to be in good condition with no visible fading, folds, tears, stains, or restoration. It has been examined out of the frame. The screenprint is attached on the back at the top corners and one middle top edge with Japanese rice paper hinges using wheat paste. There are 2 side support hinges because of the weight of the artwork. They also have keeper hinges at the bottom corners using hinges also made of rice paper and with wheat paste.